Ask Aida

I’m sure by now that everyone is familiar with the cooking show formula of people who are struggling to prepare certain dishes having some suave chef show up at their door with a film crew and a hefty budget. Tyler did it. Rocco is doing it. Newcomer Danny Boome is even getting into the act. Well finally a lady will be doing the honors.

Aida Mollenkamp is best known as the food editor of the popular foodie website chow.com. She is a chef who received her Grand Diplôme from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and also has a BS from the esteemed Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. Aida is now ready to apply her years of experience and education to help folks with their pantry problems in her new Food Network show Ask Aida (premieres August 2).

But Aida has a small problem. She can’t help you if she doesn’t hear from you. On May 2, Food Network released the following casting call:

Starting this summer, cooking expert Aida Mollenkamp can solve all your culinary concerns: from recipe and ingredient issues to advice on kitchen machinery and tools. She can even offer guidance for impromptu parties, feeding a crowd, make-ahead dishes and time-saving tips.

But first, Aida needs to hear your most pressing cooking concerns and conundrums! From problems with pies, pancakes, brownies, chocolate, cookies and cakes, as well as challenges you face when making chicken, meat and potatoes or seafood and salads, Aida is ready to tackle it all. But she not only wants to hear it, she wants to SEE it too. Your video might appear on Food Network’s new series Ask Aida. Upload a unique, creative and entertaining, 45-60 second video (90 seconds if it’s amazing!) that shows Aida what your culinary challenge is and how she can help. Only the very best videos will be considered, so get creative! For more detailed instructions from Aida herself, watch the watch the first video in the gallery.

It is nice to see Food Network finally starting to tap the Net for new talent. It is a trend that I would like to see continue, especially considering the immense popularity of some of the Internet-based cooking shows like Average Betty, Kitchen Vixen with Elizabeth Brown, and Everyday Gourmet hosted by a certain Edible TV blogger who shall remain nameless.

This is the worst show I have ever seen. For all her credentials, she doesn’t seem to even know what she’s talking about and has 0 relatability… nor does her sidekick. LAME SHOW…bring back Barefoot Contessa for me!